See her email resignation, below.
Friday, July 23, 2021
Amber McClure has Put in a Notice of Resignation
I was notified, late yesterday afternoon, that our Chief Budget Officer Amber McClure has tendered her resignation effective August 20th.
50 comments:
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Why are all of the strong independent powerful women being run out of the Escambia County Government?
ReplyDeleteWow everyone is just high tailing it out of Escambia county.... this place has so much potential but the leadership just kills it on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteIt’s the epitome of insanity the way people are jumping to conclusions over her resignation already. Assumptions can be very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThis just reflects poorly on county leadership no matter how it's spinned.
ReplyDeleteWhat reflected poorly on the county is the abuse to county employees by the former administration. It’s actually nice to see people put in position by that administration leave.
ReplyDeleteThis is a legitimate question that more people should be asking - - where is the actual proof of corruption to back up claims certain people are making? Only ignorant non critical thinkers come up with blanket statements like “they’re all corrupt”. That’s just lazy thinking. Sorry. I want to see actual proof of these allegations? Where is it?
ReplyDeleteOr Is everyone guilty now until proven innocent and I just missed that memo?
⬆️ Obviously somebody here is not keeping up with current events. ⬆️
DeleteWhenever I hear the words “someone told me”, or “I heard it from….”, I instantly tune out the rest of the conversation. All of the hearsay, baseless accusations, lies, innuendos, and hidden agendas are weak and powerless. I’ll pay attention when someone can show real verifiable proof to allegations being thrown around like confetti. All the cries to contact the governor make me shake my head. I’m sure his assistants feel the same way reading through emails filled with nothing but assumptions. They’re sent straight to the trash box like they should be.
DeleteAnon 2:15, I, for one, am most definitely keeping up with “current events”, and I agree that I haven’t seen one single shred of actual proof to substantiate the claims being made. Not a single thing that could hold up in court. Zero. However, what I do see is actual malice.
DeleteAnon 4:15 you obviously have not been following court and arbitration cases very well. The past administration and Jack Browns before that is littered with abuses of power that have cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, have resulted in a brain drain and has left some departments crippled.
Delete"Only ignorant non critical thinkers come up with blanket statements like “they’re all corrupt”. That’s just lazy thinking."
ReplyDeleteI see that a lot.
NE lets those type comments roll often. It used to aggravate me but what I had to learn was it was not my job to educate them and often he won't even pass my comments if I try on certain subjects.
Refer to "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People".
"Seek to Understand rather than to be Understood" is one habit.
When they keep doing that they can be placed in the "don't know their ass from a hole in the ground" category, for the time being.
Anonymous 11:38, I hope in my better moments I am a strong, independent woman. And I will never understand why some women are so quick to employ exceptionalism when it comes to females in executive positions.
ReplyDeleteJanice Gilley hired a number of women into leadership roles that they didn't necessarily have the experience for, and, as it turns out, she herself didn't have enough solid administrative experience to scaffold her team's development. Ms. Gilley didn't get terminated at the County because she was chased out by a chauvinistic, power-hungry board. If anything, they gave her far too much latitude once it was clear the Administrator role wasn't a good fit, and I often suspected that if she were a man, she might not have lasted as long as she did.
Dr. Edler's talent and experience as an ER physician aside, she had zero administrative experience when Jack Brown insisted on her hire, nor did she have the proper temperament--an issue that was raised and vetted during the hiring committee's selection process (it's on tape).
Jana Still had no business--absolutely none--being hired from her scant background into the lead HR role for an organization as big as the County, and she was done a great disservice when she was encouraged into a role that was far beyond anything in her professional experience.
These collapses of professional duties, in a very public fashion and over a period of years, had nothing to do with gender, nor did the terminations.
Should they have been kept on then simply because they were women?
Ms. McClure did have the resume and a lot of great traits that should have allowed her to excel in the role of Budget Manager at the County. Instead, she apparently was fed a bill of goods from various corners that she would be protected from the politics if she ran a revised budget program that kept three of the commissioners in the dark until very shortly before the workshops. I really wish we could have seen how she might have performed without getting some really bad advice from people with some pretty self-serving motives. Although the new model she presented at the workshops wasn't nearly ready for prime time--and a person as intelligent and experienced as she is had to know this--she did bring an idea that deserves serious consideration for the budget moving forward.
It was evident to people more familiar with accounting and budgeting approaches than I am that Ms. McClure was stuck in a bad place due to other people's politics, and that she really didn't have many great options for this budget cycle. It would have been great if she would have stuck with it, worked with the commission rather than adhering to an "ambush" plan of boxing three of them out (which she surely did not arrive at the County on a mission to orchestrate).
Perhaps it's true she felt disrespected at the podium. I doubt it--she's no dummy, and it was clear from a lot of her answers that she was more than aware the thing wasn't ready. Despite whatever sentiments she may have had upon her resignation yesterday, there are people to blame other than the constant commissioner targets of ECW who are the real agents of setting her up to fail this go. It's regrettable she didn't stay to mend relations and join as a willing partner with the whole BCC, rather than leaving when two of them weren't enough in that moment. While her decision may be a loss for the County, she will go on to have a successful career, hopefully at a place with superiors and mentors who have her best interests and her personal development in mind.
You are an idiot. You are not the 6th county commissioner. Stay in your lane.
DeleteTo this
ReplyDelete⬆️ Obviously somebody here is not keeping up with current events. ⬆️
For one you don't know what comment they are talking about.
What do you mean?
This looks like Arduini comment or a few of the others, maybe Sean. He/they bought hook line and sinker into the stirring up of Barry's question to the ethics commission about the 401a.
One thing you have to give Pino credit for is her stamina for typing out her opinions and observations.
I don't do that. I've watched and people seldom change their mind once they have locked into certain views.
I do agree Pino does not have a broad view of National politics but has spent an enormous time and effort on local. She is hell bent biased and unless she can improve there, she will have a difficult time, but maybe that what she thrives on. To each his own.
Some wise woman once told me:
ReplyDelete"Instead of getting pulled into drama.. and trying to answer for some one else-- tell them--
"If you really want to know what someone else thinks, Ask them."
Anonymous 11:38 and 12:06--She may have been offered a better job--how do you assume this decision by her is anything different? Why jump to such a baseless conclusion. People switch jobs all the time for lots of different reasons not all of which are sinister. It is a "workers" market--and perhaps she's been offered a much more lucrative, high-paying job in the private sector---good for her! I wish her no ill will, I wish her well. Bottom line: none of these folks that work at the county are indentured servants; they can leave whenever they want to and take advantage of better more rewarding, lucrative opportunities in the private sector with better pay, less stress and hours, and better pension plans. Good for them, and good for her! Instead of baseless allegations, how about be happy for someone who found a better opportunity?
ReplyDeleteIt’s actually damaging to Amber’s reputation to be victimized by all of the assumptions going around. As if she’s weak and quit because of a group of men. The assumptions only show ignorance of the ones assuming without any facts.
DeleteAll of the "corruption" talk can be chalked up to Underhill and his Facebook group. Over the past few years, he has routinely taken to social media to accuse pretty much every person who has ever worked for the county (including the other 4 current board members) of corruption.
ReplyDeleteYou know the drill- he posts, the administrator blocks responses that challenge him. Given his control of the content of that FB group, I don't see why all of its communications aren't also public record.
If the communication regarding county business from his two FB accounts have been ruled public record by a judge, maybe Mel Pino should put in a public records request for any PMs that have been exchanged between those two accounts and the moderators of a group that has self identified as one whose purpose is to discuss county business.
It’s pretty unnerving to read some of the outlandish assumptions and the accusations. The county most definitely has some management problems, but from my perspective a lot of work is being done to rectify those issues. Some of the higher ups were in way over their head and it’s absolutely best that they’ve moved on.
ReplyDeleteThe broad accusations of “corruption”….and the “let’s force the county to do things our way” mentality, is more damaging than people realize. It reiterates what I’ve said for years, this area lacks critical thinkers. The citizens are becoming responsible for more damage than the commissioners. They try to destroy every good thing the county tries to accomplish. People don’t get all of the FACTS before opening their mouths. They quickly jump to conclusions and their comments are based on emotion. Which is an extremely weak mindset.
A lot of this can be blamed on Commisioner Underhill’s incredibly irresponsible, destructive and reckless behavior. That I whole heartedly believe one day he’ll have to answer for legally. I have a strong feeling one of his followers will also go off the deep end eventually, just like some did on Jan. 6th. Yet placing blame on the true corrupt leader that influenced them and played on their instability, won’t work to protect them from going to jail or being sued. Commissioner Underhill’s life seems to be eaten up with his need for vengeance. His few followers aren’t capable of seeing it so they trot right along with him creating more damage. People that possess that mentality are far more destructive than the board will ever be. They’re destroying themselves in the process. For what exactly? What do you think you people are accomplishing with your incessant hatred? Do you all think the governor is going to come and reprimand the board because of your unfounded allegations? Get real. What you all THINK is happening isn’t always as it appears. But keep making moronic emotional assumptions and call outs to stop the “corruption”. You’re ruining your own reputations and making yourself look like emotionally unstable idiots, that don’t even remotely understand what you’re so upset about. Sean Bullington and Alex Arduini proved that yesterday with their embarrassing online conversation with David Bear.
Hope you all get the budget squared away. I imagine it will be.
ReplyDeleteIt is damaging and even though the rate was set at the state for elected officials; retirement you still have morons commenting on NE saying other wise and he allows them to go through while censoring others.
ReplyDeleteYes a lot of this does go back to Underhill's continuous reckless behavior.
This area does lack critical thinkers, or either they are just being quiet as had become a norm for the culture around here. Social media has really caused problems.
Who has all day to fight against the madness of one, PNJ, two NorthEscambia and three Escambia Citizens watch?
Anon 12:48 The stupidity is frustrating, especially considering some of it is willful ignorance. No one has the time or interest in fighting all of the stupidity, except the bums that spend all day spreading it. Let’s just hope it’s not contagious.
DeleteI’ve been observing for quite a while, and although my comment could be misconstrued as confrontational, I’ve noticed a disturbing pattern. There’s a group of three people that continually attack and keep the movement of hatred going online. A couple others feed off of the three, but the main three have proven their goal is to keep feeding a steady stream of “information” to keep the dissension fluid. It’s as if it’s premeditated. A transparent pattern of constitutional malice is emerging. A simplified Definition: Actual Malice occurs when someone lies on purpose, with the intentions to hurt another person, or were reckless about whether the statement was true or not but said it anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe comments I’ve read from them are indicative of a bigger agenda, that can’t be solely described as simple blind “advocacy”. Although their blind “advocacy” is indeed painful to watch. For example, one of the 3 is Sean Bullington, some may actually believe he’s advocating for whatever perceived wrong he’s trying to right, unfortunately the way he interrogates citizens as if they’re on trial, only show his true ill intent. Several of his comments are cringe worthy. He didn’t understand the context of the basic term “warrant” regarding financial transactions. He assumed it was an arrest warrant in question. But regardless of his lack of knowledge, he attacked and viciously interrogated anyway in an attempt to vilify another individual. That’s just the most recent example of many that I’ve observed.
The comment above that says “they don’t even understand what they’re upset about”, is clearly 100 percent accurate. But the bigger thing I’ve noticed is, they simply don’t care if what they’re saying is inaccurate. I’ve noticed the same thing with another one of the three, Alex Arduini. He’s stated “the rules have been changed by the state” in regards to the statutes that govern the 401(a) program. He couldn’t name what statute he claims had been changed. Nor did he have enough knowledge to fully carry his part in the conversation, so his only retort at that point was to ask another irrelevant generalized question. He then carries on throwing out reckless statements about “corruption”. Forgive my analogy, but it’s like watching 12 year olds interrogate a rocket scientist. It’s painful to watch, but very telling.
The other one of the three, Jacqueline Rogers, sounds a little bit more intelligent. Yet if you dig deeper into her comments, they mostly stem from a paranoid mind blurting out one unfounded accusation after another. All of her arguments are based on assumptions without validity of fact.
There’s more to their blind “advocacy” than meets the eye. That much has become quite clear.
YOU NAILED IT!!!! The 3 people that comment the most are 3 of the most miserable human beings I’ve ever seen. Throw in Commisioner underhill and his wife and it’s a cesspool of negative miserable souls. The intentional “the sky is falling in the county and it’s all the other commissioners fault” game is so transparent and old. The people that read that negative spam day in and day out are going to become just as miserable as the posters.
DeleteWhile commented come her to attack Underhill and ECW Melissa goes after him practically on a daily basis along with screenshots. So who is obsessed?
ReplyDelete"Yours may be leaving sooner than you think, Wendy. The Bear lawsuit is going very poorly for him in federal court (while the state suit is apparently sitting in abeyance awaiting the outcome), and the Court hasn't yet opined on whether your husband was in knowing breech of the public records law when he failed to turn his records over to David M. Bear, not just prior to the suit, but during it.
If that opinion comes down against him and indicates intent on his part, surely you guys must be aware that those of us who filed charges at the State's Attorney's Office will be revisiting those filings at that time.
So it would be more properly said, Wendy, that yours is either leaving as soon as he can, or as soon as he has to. The timeline on his departure is still pretty fluid."
I’m just thrilled to hear the federal case against Commisioner Underhill is going well. That’ll be a huge win for transparency. You know, the same transparency Commisioner Underhill always says he wants, but not when it applies to him…
DeleteIt’s crazy to hear one story after another about ECAT, school bus drivers, EMT pay, corrections officers pay and how the county has gone to hell the past couple of years. Well guess what y’all? That all happened under Janice Gilley’s watch. But you all rolled on the floor throwing tantrums about her firing like 5 year olds. Then threw more tantrums when the board started getting rid of the incompetent people she hired. The county is trying to clean up the messes but you people want to keep on crying about it and criticize every effort they make to fix the problems.
ReplyDeleteI see Mrs. Underhill is playing victim to your brother again, police officers, private citizens, and anyone else she can think of to blame her problems on. I’m sure the neighbors she also hates will be to blame somehow too. Lack of accountability and always pushing blame on the huge amount of people you hate has to be a sign of a mental disorder.
ReplyDeleteIt’s best to ignore her constant crazy blaming.Reading all that misery, hate and gloom and doom isn’t healthy for anyone. Just be thankful you aren’t her.
DeleteUnderhill and his followers and dissenters are the crazy makers. This blog has allowed a steam pop off valve. I think Bergosh is careful, Some of what Pino says is true. Some is way off in left field. She is just like Underhill and Edler that's why she knows who they are. Takes one to know one. We will all be better off they decide to use their energy elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteTo she keeps attacking
ReplyDeleteHonestly I only see a few years back but look even further. I think you are the one making fun of the "beer guy"
Underhill is using you. The Bears go way back. They are successful. Not clowns. David takes the time with you on ECW. You are lucky he even does.
https://www.pensapedia.com/wiki/Lewis_Bear_Company
I’m a lifelong Pensacola resident and the Bear family’s generosity and their love for community is well known. The people that show hatred for them are small envious people. My Mother worked for Lewis Bear when she first moved here. She was struggling financially at that time and the Bear’s put a little extra in her first check to help her get on her feet. She still talks fondly of them to this day.
DeleteAnonymous 10:30, There’s a word for it and it’s called doomscrolling.
ReplyDeleteDoomscrolling is the act of spending an excessive amount of screen time devoted to the absorption of dystopian news. Increased consumption of predominantly negative news may result in harmful psychophysiological responses in some.
Look at the people on ECW and you’ll see how it’s harming them mentally.
Do you remember the story about Chicken Little? “Chicken Little throws his small town into panic by claiming the sky is falling. Unable to find the piece of "sky" that hit him, he earns the town's scorn.”
Jacqueline Rogers and Doug Underhill are Pensacola’s version of chicken little…
To Jacqueline Aimme Rogers, you’re a miserable human being and you’re hurting Amber’s reputation by speculating about the reason she quit. You said “I havent talked to Ms.McClure and I have never met her” …. But you are ruining her reputation anyway by making her look weak insinuating she quit because she couldn’t handle the men on the board. What is wrong with you? Do you ever think about the people you harm? Do you ever get proof first to validate your statements? No you don’t. You don’t care about any carnage you leave behind or anyone’s reputation you ruin, as long as it’s making the people you personally hate look bad. You need psychological help. You’re consumed with hate. Amber is a very strong woman. It’s NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHY SHE QUIT!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you haven't considered the optics of her sudden departure which isn't a reflection upon her. Two people canned, one forced to resign, and now Ms. McClure submits her resignation during budget meetings and after being raked over the coals by commissioners.
DeleteAnonymous 1:33, the optics don’t count as facts. Before you assume things that could possibly hurt others, have enough courage to ask someone directly. She wasn’t raked over the coals by anyone. Stop painting her as weak and timid.
DeleteAnonymous1:33, , have you thought of the possibility that she realized she was in over her head and decided to take a different job that doesn’t have the public scrutiny that came with the one at the county??? Do you think the way you’re trying to portray her as a “victim” is flattering? Did you ever think using her the way ECW is trying to do to promote their hate agenda will hinder other employers from hiring her? Did you ever think that it’s just not your business to spread rumors about someone you’ve never met??? Why don’t you mind your own business. You people have a long list of others to ruin I’m sure of it.
DeleteRaked over the coals by commissioners? Are you kidding? Being asked specific questions about a budget for an entire county isn’t being “raked over the coals”. Give me a break.
DeleteThe speculation is downright disrespectful. You could tell some people the reality of any situation and they’d still twist it to fit their agenda. Respecting someone’s privacy is a concept those people don’t grasp. They’ll carry on about it until they find someone else to use to promote their agenda of hate.
DeleteThis isn’t the appropriate place to post this but I tried to post it on Commisioner Underhill’s Commisioner page, but for some reason he hid it so no one else could see it.
ReplyDeleteContrary to Commisioner Underhill’s constant lies, Commisioner Underhill ignores the part of Warrington that falls in his district. His portion of warrington is an utter disgrace.
Commissioner Underhill, these are your words posted on that escambia hate group on Facebook 8 years ago to be exact. Your words to Jacqueline Rogers:
****“You have many new farmers indeed. We all suffer from the Gene/George business model. We need to work together to keep the pressure up, but there are others we need to learn to reach. For example, people in Warrington and Myrtle Grove who are left in the cold while Gene focuses all his energy on Perdido Key. Pensacola Beach people who are tired of Gene insisting Perdido get something every time PB does. There must be other constituencies out there who have no access to their government because of these two men.”
“Yes! CITIZENS AGAINST TOUART FOR ADMINISTRATOR is the group I was thinking of. That effort was effective, so it looks like round 2 is upon us. Get you torches & pitchforks out!”
- Douglas Underhill, April 3, 2013 ****
The hypocrisy in your own words has us all rolling our eyes. YOU SIR HAVE LEFT US IN WARRINGTON IN THE COLD!!!!! GET YOUR BUTT OFF FACEBOOK AND DO YOUR DAMN JOB!!!!! WE ARE SICK OF YOUR EMPTY WORDS, YOUR BLAME GAME, AND YOUR LIES!!!!!
How ironic that he went from saying we all suffer from the Gene/George business model, into making us suffer from the Underhill/Gilley business model. Doug Underhill is the exact politician he swore to fight that got him elected. Everyone Janice gilley hired needs to be removed because they were all infected by the Underhill/Gilley business model.
DeleteI remember those days. J’Aimee was love struck by doug. She’d even go to the library to use their WiFi to flirt with him on her page. That one is 100 percent addicted to the internet. She’s been plotting with him for 8 years. The things that go on in Pensacola and the weird characters are more than enough for another book for Rick Outzen to write. Truth in this town is stranger than fiction.
DeleteHate breeds hate & ECW has a long history of being a breeding ground of hate, a place where people have long thought they could make reckless false accusations without consequence. If you defend anyone other than commissioner underhill or question to see proof of the accusations, you’re automatically ganged up on by the same people. Time after time. You can’t even correct their false accusations without being accused of shilling for the other commissioners. I’m surprised it’s taken so long for their victims to contemplate legal action against the admin. Social media gives us a platform to communicate but it’s being taken advantage of & has become a big free for all. That’s coming to an end. The people behind ECW have gone out of their way to ruin reputations. Like another commenter said “we have the right to have our own opinions, but not every opinion has the right to be published.”
DeleteTo “negative people are miserable people”, I’ve never heard the term doomscrolling but that’s so fitting. I quit reading the local hate page because it’s all negativity and chronic complainers that aren’t happy with anything. They could be presented with the most beautiful and well run community and they’d still find something to complain about. Doomscrolling is their life.
ReplyDeletehttps://ricksblog.biz/buzz-budget-director-jumps-to-clerk/
ReplyDeletegoing to work for Lonnie
And there you have it folks. All the speculations, assumptions, & the stupid comments like “amber doesn’t strike me as the type to have something else lined up”. Just like commissioner Bergosh said, she took another job. Just like other people do everyday.
Delete*Loni Kaye
ReplyDeleteHow many of these “Anonymous” comments are in fact Bear, Bergosh or Pino?!?!? All of them.
ReplyDeleteI post a lot and I’m none of those people. Believe it or not those people aren’t the only ones that follow local politics.
DeleteI’m sure the commissioner is also well aware lawsuits are lining up and IP addresses could be subpoenaed so I really doubt he’s posting anonymously.
Delete